Seeing, Not Just Looking - iPhone Photography

Classic Red Barn in the Palouse

Last week I lead 12 creative and adventurous photographers through a tour of the Palouse. Each of them shot with a dSLR while I continued to shoot with my iPhone. At times, especially on top of Steptoe Butte, I envied their telephoto lenses. 

At first I captured this image just to remind me of what the barn looked like at this location, since the barn is just a speck in the field without a telephoto lens! When I arrived back home it somehow made it to my 'to be processed' file. However as I processed it I was annoyed by the triangular clouds and chose not to post it. This morning as I looked through my Photo Library through just waking up blurry eyes, I realized just how much the clouds mimic the triangles in the field and fell in love with the wonderment of Mother Nature one again!

A lesson in seeing instead of looking!

The Hike to Munra Point

It has been a while, both for a blog posting and for hiking. I decided not to go easy on myself for the first hike of the season and climbed to the top of Munra Point about 1800 feet. Pay off for the hardwork was a golden sunset from the top. However along the trail what captivated me was the old oaks covered in lycan and moss. 

One of the many things I love about my iPhone and the ability to process images on it is that you can do it from anywhere at any time. This image I processed from a warm bubble bath after the hike, another wonderful reward. 

Snapseed
Tangled FX

Image Blender

Long Tail on Koh Lipe

Got up early this morning to take a peek at sunrise. Spent 30 minutes walking the beach capturing the moments of the day. Gave this image a slight vintage look using a Vintage by Jixipix. It has been a good morning. 

Thanksgiving Morning Hike

Started this Thanksgiving connecting with nature. My dad, Mark and I hiked through the moss covered trees to a abundant waterfall while the sun warmed us. It was a great way to start our day!

Snapseed, Filterstorm, Glaze, Image Blender, Artista Oil

Hiking the Sierra's with my iPhone - Tangled

While trying to decide which image to post today, I came across this lovely scene from the Sierra Nevada mountains. I spend 6 nights in this beautiful range surrounded by high alpine lakes backpacking last summer. What a wonderful way to stay health and feel carefree. 

I find it sometimes hard to process detailed landscapes. I usually an happy with just adding a few adjustment with Snapseed. Today however I wanted to try a few apps that I have in my "check it out" folder. I decided Tangled would work well for this scene. This app not only gives a unique look from other apps but the image can be saved up to 12 mp in size. Within the app there are several preset filter choices and then the users can customize from there with a large variety of slider choices from: Stroke Size, Smudge Size and Color Boost to name a few. 

As I usually do I used the Tangled layer to blend with.  I then used Artista Oil to create the while framed canvas look. Filterstorm was used to vignette mask two images together. My final step was to use Structure in Snapseed to add sharpening. 

Enjoy! 

Old Cle Elum Farm III - iPhone Capture, iPad Processed

As promised here is the painterly version of the Cle Elum Farm. I always struggle with the overly painted to realism. This image has many layers. 

Snapseed

Image Blender

AutoPainter 3

Filterstorm

Glaze

Old Cle Elum Farm

Last week I was home in Cle Elum for a typical quick visit. For the first time saw an image as I drove past this scene on my way to a friend house.  I processed it in a way that captured the essence of a scene years ago. 

Snapseed, Filterstorm, Noir, Old Photo Pro, Image Blender

Apple Goodness

Spent last evening making lots of apple goodness at my daughter Suzanne's with her husband Tyson, my Mom, Rex and Beth. We canned 10 gallons of apple goodness. 

Snapseed

Filterstorm

Image Blender

Dynamic Light

Grungetastic

Snapseed HDR, Teri Lou, and an iPhone 5s in Portland

Sunday I purchased the new iPhone so today I treated myself to a photo shoot in Portland on the waterfront. A beautiful autumn day it was too. I had a great time, feeling the familiar passion run through my veins. I posed in 'The Backside of Teri Lou' fashion while on lookers watched this crazy girl taking photos of herself on her iPhone. It made me smile. 

However the best part was coming home to process the image. Letting my creative juices flow in ways that have been lacking. I was surprised to find Snapseed had been upgraded. A great addition is the HDR folder. Makes me excited to take some of my old truck images and reprocess them again to see the effect. Another addition is the option in Image Tune - opening up the shadows. WOW! I must say that my disappointment of losing White Balance soon disappeared when I saw the results of 'Shadow'.

If you haven't yet added Snapseed to your Top Photography Folder, you must add it and it is FREE!

ProHDR

Snapseed

Glaze

Image Blender

Filterstorm

Original

After Snapseed HDR

Last Days of Summer

This photo was captured with my iPhone as a self portrait while enjoying the last days of sunny warmth in the Valley of Fire state park. I enjoyed processing it on my iPad with Snapseed, Filterstorm, Moku Hanga, Image Blender and Touch Retouch. 

Yes I captured most the the images that day with my Olympus Pen however I must say that I am still an iPhone photographer at heart. It has been 3 years since I took my first serious iPhone photo using the app ProHDR and I am still hooked and enjoying it immensely. 

I bought the Olympus Pen because I wanted the option for sharper images and compression with a telephoto lens. Both are available with the new camera and I am sure I have several wonderful images that I took with the Pen but I have only looked at a few and processed a couple since I got it early this summer. However, as usual, I have actively processed and posted many images from my iPhone or iPad to Facebook on a regular basis all summer long. 

Why am I not connecting to the Olympus? Simply because it is only a camera without the ability to process and post. As with many photographers I have many things to do other than photography when I return home from a trip. Day to day business needs to get done and processing an image falls at the bottom of the priority list. However many of my iPhone images have been captured, stitched, transferred, processed, posted and backed up instantly. One of my most enjoyable things to do while out shooting is to stitch a HDR image together, process and post it while sitting on a rock still soaking up the view. 

As I think about it, even if the Olympus was capable of processing and posting it still would be too bulky to be intimate like the iPhone. 

Paint Brush Meadow, Jefferson Park

Yesterday I returned from a backpacking trip to Jefferson Park in Oregon. The trip was full of beauty. I just loved the hike. I brought my new Olympus Pen however I find that I am still using the iPhone most of the time because of the convenience and simplicity. 

When I suggest that the iPhone is simple, I am meaning in the right in your pocket ready to go scenerio. After capture the process it is very enjoyable, thought provoking and engaging - anything but simple.

This morning I sat down with my iPad , planning on doing quick process to my photo of a meadow full of red Paint Brush flowers. (I was hoping for a short interruption to the "real" work I am suppose to do today.) When I began to process I felt myself immersed. The options, the details, the possibilities were surrounding me in a state of need to do it right. I soon became involved in the scene growing more at peace with it as the processed neared the end. I found myself blending this option with that option and building on it by masking in a little more detail here and there. Wanting the final image to be worthy of a blog posting and maybe even a printed version. 

Snapseed

Glaze x4

Image Blender

Filterstorm

Lots of love....

Stuck on Waterfalls

So many waterfalls so little time.

Today I took my aunt and mom on a short tour of some waterfalls that are right next to the road along the Old Historic Highway in the gorge. This image is of Horsetail Falls. One of the more popular ones since it is right off the road. 

I processed this image with:
Snapseed
Image Blender

Glaze

One Photo, Two Moods

Every now and then I try processing a photo in two completely different ways. Today I decided to try the bridge image as in all its green glory and then as a vintage theme. 

Which is your favorite?

This wonderful bridge is about 1 mile past Triple Falls. It was a perfect day to capture it as the clouds created a terrific diffuser. 

I processed with my favorites: Snapseed, Glaze and Image Blender

With the image I added: Photo FX Ultra and Old Photo Pro, ending once again with Image Blender and finalizing with Snapseed.

I had a wonderful weekend full of healthy hiking and Suzie Homemaker time! 

Back to work at Portland Urgent Care tomorrow. Have a busy week with a deadline. 

Tunnel Falls in the Gorge - Hike with iPhone

The twelve mile round trip hike to Tunnel Falls was so worth it yesterday. I heard it is one of the most popular and I can see why. The trail follows Eagle Creek the entire way. Waterfalls, deep gorges and white water are plentiful.

I stitched this image together using Autostitch on my iPad. The new iPad version stitches up to a 36 megabyte file, yes twice the size of the iPhone version. A must have app for those of you who love big images. Of course not all processing apps can handle such a big file. This image is 20 mb. Snapseed, Glaze and Image Blender had no problem processing it. However Dynamic Light crash.

Wisteria - Iphoneography that looks like a painting

On this 80 degree Portland day, the doors and windows are open allowing the sweet fragrance of wisteria to perms ate the entire house. I am in Heaven!

Smapseed
Artista Oil
Image Blender

Old Trucks, iPhoneography style by Teri Lou

There once was a girl who liked to take photographs. Little did she know that old trucks would be such an enticing subject. The rust, layers of paint, and years of neglect is what attracted her.
What she didn't realize was how many others knew just how drawn she was to these trucks in fields, backyards and farms.
On more than one occasion when given the opportunity to go on a photo tour with fellow photographers the destination that was picked included the abandoned vehicles she loved so much. This last opportunity, once again, allowed her to practice her craft while surrounded by Ford's of yesteryear.
You can see by the selection, she created an assignment for herself to focus on the details. She picked the inside of the door with the two handles.

Processed with
Snapseed
Artista haiku
Monku Hanga
image Blender

Time Away

I just spent a few days way from the clinic, finally! I went to Suttle Lake. Unfortunately I was enjoying being warm and cozy in the cabin too much to be very inspired to go outside among the freezing winds and hard crusted snow. So I barely took a photo. However on the way home I captured this group of trees near the rivers edge.
After playing with many apps I used Picturesque, Artista Oil, Snapseed, Image Blender and Filterstorm to create this image. I felt a little rusty but enjoyed the process and played.

Improving an Old Image

Sometime it is just fun to be creative!

Bike Portland

A moment I captured during dinner this evening

Toon Paint
Image Blender
Snapseed

iPhoneography Feeds My Soul in Portland

Time for gift giving!

Yesterday I posted on Facebook, "Photography feeds my soul and I am starving."

Shortly later while I was driving to work, yes I am employed hence the 'gone missing' concept (but more on that later), I decided to stop at a local park I have driven by numerous times. I was surprised at the number of cars in the parking lot on this drizzly misty damp day. When I first got out of the car I was fascinated by a lady all bundled up sitting under a small shelter reading a book. Why would she choose to read a book here? The photographer in me wanted to capture her in that moment but I chose to give her the privacy she deserved  - I know some of you would consider that I am slacking!

I decided to borrow as a prop a bouquet of flowers that I had bought as a Thank you gift. I used it in various shots thinking of a Christmas card photo idea. Then true to my nature I started to get more creative and in the end found myself capturing my familiar - "back side" pose.

The image was processed with Moka Hanga, Snapseed, Filterstorm and Image Blender. I actually was a bit rusty and had to process the image a few times before I got it right.

More on the "gone missing" issue....
My fulltime job opportunity presented itself to me disguised as a 6 week project. Urgent Care Express needed a project manager and I had some personal experience on how to facilitate a construction build out. I fully engaged myself in the project sometimes working crazy late into the night. I was spent by the end of the day, nothing was left to be creative with, therefore my blog has been neglected. Well the 10 week project is now open for business and I am winding down from my duties with marketing. The project was extremely rewarding personally due to the fact of working with such a wonderful management team, allowing me to be creative in decor and graphic design materials, and the pure pride of getting the job done right. However I will admit that when I processed this image it just felt good, feeding my soul and reminding me just how much I love photography and iPad processing.

So dear friends, followers and admirers I AM BACK. Ready to blog, teach, learn, share and feel the passion that feeds me! Thanks for your patience!